After 15 long years, Naruto is coming to an end

On November 10th, Naruto will finish its 15-year run, but fans wonder if it end with a bang or a whimper.

The popular manga has been published in Shonen Jump magazine for over 15 years beginning in 1999.

Far from being the longest running serialized manga, Naruto is still extremely popular with people waiting by their local book stores every morning to see the next chapter in Shonen Jump.

With not only the manga, but an anime, video games, movies, toys, and more the series has become more than just a comic, but a cultural icon of Japan.

Ending a series with as big of a following as this is a big thing for its fans. Countless readers have grown up with characters like Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura who have quite literally aged along with them. Naruto and his team member are like friends; like family to some.

As the protagonist, Naruto’s aim has always to become “Hokage”, the master of the Hidden Leaf village and help his friends. He was a naughty in his youth and couldn’t protect those he loved at first, but as he matured he grew stronger and stronger.

He’s progressed from being a little kid to being someone who could eventually run the village, a remarkable feat for any character.

Fans can’t wait for the last issues to arrive. Will Naruto and Sasuke finally repair their friendship? Will Naruto become “Hokage”? Will the story have an ending everyone will love or an ending everyone will hate?

This December, The Last: Naruto the Movie will screen. Since its theme is “beyond the original” we can only hope that it will elaborate on the future of the characters. In fact, many are speculating that the film will bring some closure to fans and will help reunite Naruto with those he’s lost over the years.

Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of the Japanese comic, announced the ending of his protagonist’s story arc. “The battle of Naruto and his comrades is in its final phase, in the truest sense of the term,” he said during the 2012 Jump Festa event.

Furthermore, he teased that the plot would establish the history of several antagonists. This includes Madara, Sasuke, who is Naruto’s former childhood friend, and the milieu of the ten-tailed beast. Basically, the beast was created by the Shinju together with Kaguya Otsutsuki, known as the Demonic Rabbit Goddess.

“About the Ten Tails, about Madara, and then, about Sasuke…I will continue to raise the tension without restraint, in every way I can! Please follow this story of a boy named Naruto a little while longer, I will greatly appreciate it.”